Society

China plans to sell 600 billion yuan ($91 billion) worth of welfare lotteries from 2011 to 2015, up 73.6 percent from the past five years, an official from the Welfare Lottery Distribution and Management Center (WLDMC) has said.

The sales of welfare lotteries posted an annual increase of 18.7 percent over the past five years, from 41.2 billion yuan in 2006 to 96.8 billion in 2010, the official said.

The sales totalled 345.53 billion yuan from 2006 to 2010.

Beijing will embrace its first snow this winter during the coming 24 hours, which arrives as the latest snowfall in 60 years, China's meteorological authority forecast Wednesday.

Beijng has had no precipitation for 108 days, as of Wednesday, making this winter the longest snow-free season on record in the past 60 years, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in a statement on its website.

Affected by a cold front moving eastward, light snow is forecast throughout the entire city during Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Most parts of the city will have snowfall of one to two millimeters.

On the heels of Forbes’ meeting with the World Bank comes news that China has surpassed the World Bank in lending to the developing world. The Financial Times estimates that over the past two years, China has made an estimated $110 billion worth of loans to Africa, South America and the Middle East. With China taking center stage in the U.S. political arena, could it also be taking over the globalization agenda?

The development goals of China stand in stark contrast to those of the World Bank according to Jamie Metzl, executive vice president of the Asia Society. “The key difference between World Bank loans and China’s loans is that Chinese investments are not being made from an economic perspective, but from a strategic and national security one. China has national security motives in gaining access to natural resources and in gaining political support.” Sudan, for example, sells two-thirds of its oil to China and in exchange is provided with tanks, combat aircraft, small arms and investment funds, despite the civil conflict and human rights violations in Darfur. In 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao announced that China would forgive $70 million in Sudanese debt and enter into a series of bilateral economic deals, including an interest-free loan of $12.9 million for a new presidential palace.

You could almost hear the roar from Beijing office towers as sports fans following the Australian Open on their work computers learned the news that Li Na was through to the final.

Ms. Li’s semifinal victory in Melbourne over World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, which makes her the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final, is cause for national celebration. Best-selling author Lian Yue, writing on Sina’s microblogging site, declared breathlessly that Ms. Li possessed the qualities to be the new face of China: “Independent, natural, humorous, perserverant and speaking fluent English.”

To that list of attributes, add one more: female.

One of the enduring mysteries of modern sports in China is why the top ranks of tennis are exclusively a female preserve.

As Chinese women storm their way up the global tennis rankings, it’s becoming more than a little embarrassing for the men. Ms. Li now ranks 11th in the world. She’s one of four Chinese women in the Top 100. Meanwhile, the best a Chinese man can manage is 317.